A Conversation With Brian Ezra

Mr. Ezra, 34, is a founding principal of Avery Hall Investments, a residential developer focused on Brooklyn. The company, which was started in 2013, is working on several projects, including residential and mixed-use developments in Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Park Slope. Mr. Ezra grew up in Park Slope.

Interview conducted and condensed by

VIVIAN MARINO

Q.How do your duties and responsibilities differ from those of Avi Fisher, the other founding principal?

A. My role is primarily focused on the deal-sourcing and project-conceptualization side — considering what sites we want to pursue, doing zoning and financial market analysis upfront, and then into approvals. My co-founder, Avi Fisher, is primarily focused on the legal structuring, financing side of the business. He also takes a very strong interest in marketing and sales.

We have a third partner, Jesse Wark — he joined shortly after, in 2014 — and his role is primarily focused on the design, development and construction side. He’s a licensed architect. He’s put up several buildings in New York. So we’ve got a very nice division of labor.

Q.How has the company grown in the last two-plus years you’ve been in business?

A. We’ve been very happy with the level of growth that we’ve experienced. We’re fortunate to have taken on some exciting projects, grown perhaps faster than we thought that we would. So overall, we’re extraordinarily pleased.

Q.Exactly how large is the business?

A. The total firm is seven people today and growing. That’s three principals and four staff. In total, spread across a number of projects, our development pipeline is approximately $400 million in total development costs. Between condominiums and rental units, that’s around 225-plus apartments, plus a relatively significant retail footprint.

Q. How many projects are you working on right now?

A. It’s around six or seven projects. A project that we’re very excited about that’s in construction and sales right now is called 465 Pacific Street, in Boerum Hill.

Q.Tell me about it.

A. That’s designed by Morris Adjmi, and it’s a beautiful design that’s been very well received since we hit the market in the fall. It’s a 30-unit condominium, and we sold approximately 50 percent of the units in the first 30 days. And in the first 90 days, we’re 90-plus percent sold.

We’re averaging around $1,450 a square foot, which for Boerum Hill is quite strong. More than half of the apartments have private terrace space. We’ve got parking. We’ve got a fantastic amenity package.

Q.How far along is construction?

A. We’ve topped out the Pacific Street side of the building and we’re on the third floor of the Atlantic Avenue side. So we project to deliver the building at the end of 2016.

Q.What’s the status of your project at 112 Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill?

A. We have demolished the site. There used to be a service station there.

It’s in the Cobble Hill historic district, so we did have to secure Landmarks Preservation Committee approvals, and there was healthy back-and-forth with the community. We made some changes. We reduced the glazing in the facade, and we ultimately secured that approval. We then elected to seek a variance to permit ground-floor retail. We went through the process and presented to the community board. We received a unanimous approval there.

So that’s planned as eight units over ground-floor retail.

Q.What’s going on at 161 Columbia Street, in the waterfront district?

A. That’s a boutique project. It’s four units, which will be ground-up. Very appropriate scale for that block. There’s been an opportunity with the adjoining property, 163 Columbia Street, which we are in contract to acquire from the local community organization. And we are very, very close to completing the acquisition of that property. Then we would develop two mirror-image four-unit walk-up residential buildings.

A. This is our largest project that we’ve taken on to date. That is a parking lot and single-story grocery building in the heart of Park Slope.

We are in contract to acquire the site — it’s around 70,000 square feet of land. It is a significant project with a significant capital investment. I’d prefer not to quote a specific number, but I think it is fair to say that the entire project is in the nine figures.

That’s planned as a mixed-income rental building. We’re planning over 150 units. We’re planning ground-floor retail. And we would create, on private land with private developer capital, 7,000 or 8,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space.

Q.What about the grocery store that’s there?

A. There is community concern about the potential loss of the grocery store. We’re sensitive to it, and we are working with the community to achieve a very mutually acceptable solution which will bring back a grocery store to the ground level.

Q.Why focus solely on Brooklyn?

A. I grew up in Park Slope and live in Cobble Hill and have a deep love of Brooklyn. We think that historically the market hasn’t necessarily valued appropriately.

Q.Could you ever see the company expanding, say, to Queens?

A. Yeah, I can see that. That would be a sort of a natural extension of our company.